Roadmap for clearing the tent city at Strathcona Park

Finally we have a coordinated response rolling out for Strathcona Park; with City, Parks and new provincial government at the table.

This means:

– Services for folk in need until we get them into shelter

– Asserting presence in the park for safety, outreach, cleaning – Carefully managing the location of shelters

– Control and remediation of park

It’s been a lot of work behind the scenes to get us to this place, and it will seem frustratingly slow yet, as we operationalize this work. People both housed and unhoused will need to resolve to getting folks out of the park and into shelter.

The new GM of Park Board and new Ministry of Housing have been instrumental in getting some of the final hurdles cleared, and of course the elected park board, and Chair Camil Dumont…

Lastly, I need to acknowledge the support and smarts of my council colleagues Rebecca Bligh and Lisa Dominato who have helped immensely behind-the-scenes, and been very kind in focusing my frustration these last seven months.

In response to: https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/tentative-dan-fumano-park-board-city-moving-to-end-strathcona-park-tent-city

EDIT: This optimistic post was premature – the clearing of the park, including securing shelter for those who wanted housing and returning law and order to the park did not happen until spring of 2021 it would take months for remediation of the park.